Three Naxals Killed In Encounter With Security Forces In Chhattisgarh

Three Naxals were shot dead in an encounter with security personnel during an anti-Naxalite operation in Bijapur district.

The security personnel will identify the deceased Naxals.

Source : PTI

Three Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, on Sunday. The confrontation began in the morning within a forest in the Indravati National Park area when an anti-Naxalite operation was conducted by a joint team of security personnel.

According to a PTI report, Inspector General of Police (IGP) (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P. said that personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and District Force were involved in the operation.

Following the intermittent exchange of fire, the bodies of three Naxalites dressed in 'uniform' were found at the site, along with firearms, including automatic weapons, and explosives. They are being identified.

The IGP said that a search operation is still underway in the area. With these, 12 Naxalites have been killed in separate encounters in the state so far this year.

On January 6, five Naxalites were killed, including two women, following a three-day-long anti-Naxal operation by security forces in Abujhmad, along the border of Narayanpur, Dantewada, and Bijapur districts.

That day, Naxals detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) weighing 60 to 70 kilograms in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Monday, killing eight District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel and their civilian driver. This marks the most significant attack on security forces in the state in the last two years.

The DRG personnel, a specialised anti-insurgency unit primarily comprising local tribal recruits and surrendered Naxalites, were returning in a Scorpio vehicle after the three-day anti-Naxalite operation conducted along the borders of Dantewada, Narayanpur, and Bijapur districts.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (south Bastar) Kamlochan Kashyap stated that the powerful IED was likely planted long ago. "Preliminary investigation suggests the wires connected to the device were deeply buried, with grass growing over the site. A 150-metre-long wire connected to the trigger was recovered during inspection," he said, as quoted by PTI. Kashyap admitted to lapses in security measures, though he did not provide further details.

On January 9, three Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Sukma district. Earlier, on January 3, a Naxalite was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Gariaband district, which falls in the Raipur division.

Last year, 219 Naxalites were neutralised by security forces in separate encounters in the state.